Behind Al-jazeera's Scenes

Washington Bureau Chief Says Arab Network Goes For Both Sides Of The Story

April 19, 2003|By LIZ HALLORAN; Courant Staff Writer

WASHINGTON — Hafez Mirazi, in a tailored, blue-gray suit and soft lavender dress shirt, hustled into his K Street office this week and apologized for running a little late before settling behind his cluttered desk.

CNN squawked from a television in the corner, two drained cans of Coke sat in front of the computer, and photographs of Mirazi's children and his late mother, in a separate silver heart-shaped frame, nestled among notes and phones and videotapes.

The picture is of a typical American businessman -- and so he is. Except for one detail: Mirazi, 45, is the Washington bureau chief for Al-Jazeera, the controversial Arab all-news satellite television network that catapulted into U.S. consciousness when it broadcast a tape of Osama bin Laden after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Egyptian-born Mirazi, who has lived in the U.S. for the past two decades and took his oath as a citizen five years ago, leads a team of 22 -- including five reporters whose beats include the Pentagon, the State Department, Congress and the White House -- sending U.S. news back to the Arab world. It is Al-Jazeera's largest operation outside the Middle East.

``I am with the free, independent, balanced Al-Jazeera and when it ceases to be there, I won't be there,'' said Mirazi, a precise-speaking news veteran with stints at the BBC and Voice of America under his belt. ``I'd like to assure you and my audience that I have no holy cows.''

The Qatar-based network recently has been allowed a coveted broadcast spot on the north lawn of the White House with other media heavy hitters, and is expanding with a one-person New York City bureau. But Al-Jazeera has been buffeted of late, too.

Its U.S. Internet site launch was spoiled by hackers. Its reporters were banned by the New York Stock Exchange. And because of the bin Laden tape, and more recent complaints about airing videos of American POWs in Iraq, it remains frozen in the minds of many Americans as the network of al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein.

Mirazi says that Al Jazeera is simply reporting the news for its particular audience -- the Arab world -- just as U.S. networks tailor their coverage for the sensibilities of American audiences.

``People are always trying to label us,'' he says matter-of-factly, and at various times since it was founded in 1996 the network has been accused of being controlled by Americans, financed by Israelis, run by the CIA, and in cahoots with the Palestinians.

``Our job is not diplomacy or propaganda,'' Mirazi said. ``It's important for our audience to hear first-hand from Washington instead of just slogans. The challenge is covering both sides of the story.''

Mirazi wasn't always sold on Al-Jazeera -- he had no confidence when the network was founded with a grant from the emir of Qatar that it would survive.

The Arab world had never had a network that wasn't directly government-operated, and Al-Jazeera was pledging to be independent.

``When I realized after four years that it was here to stay, and that it had resisted all kinds of pressure from all sides, I did not hesitate to join them,'' said Mirazi, who met his Tunisian-born wife while both worked at Voice of America. She now works at Radio SAWA, a U.S. government-operated station that broadcasts in Arabic to the Middle East.

Before the 2001 terrorist attacks, Al-Jazeera was winning plaudits here and abroad for bringing a more open and free press to the Middle East. Its efforts in reporting more than just the official version of events angered many governments in the Arab world, including the Saudis, Jordanians and Kuwaitis. At various times, Al-Jazeera reporters have been barred, and foreign ambassadors have been pulled out of Qatar in protest.

Al-Jazeera delved into government corruption, interviewed dissidents, and angered its Arab viewers by giving Israelis a voice on the air, too. Mirazi recalled a cartoon by an Arab illustrator that showed the network anchors with the Jewish Star of David over their heads.

But the more it has been banned, criticized, and boycotted, the more it has grown in popularity with Arabic-speaking viewers -- 35 million now watch the network, including about 150,000 in the U.S.

``It has been a breath of fresh air,'' said Mohammed el-Nawawy, a journalism professor at Stonehill College in Easton, Mass., who has written extensively about Al-Jazeera. ``It has revolutionized the Arab scene by opening the door to free expression.''

El-Nawawy, co-author of ``Al Jazeera: How the Free Arab News Network Scooped the World and Changed the Middle East,'' said the network is secular and tries to reflect what people on the Arab streets are thinking.

``Even though we are now seeing more networks following suit, Al-Jazeera is the first truly independent one from the Arab world,'' he said. ``Freedom of expression is contagious.''